St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

S t J o hn’s C a t hedra l

St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend The Cathedral’s memorials to Australia’s service personnel who have served and fought in the Anzac tradition

St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane has long cherished the memory of Australian Defence Force personnel who have fought and served in key military conflicts in which Australia has been engaged. The Cathedral was one of the first institutions in the country to commemorate the historic dawn landings at Gallipoli when it conducted a requiem Eucharist for “The Fallen” on 10 June 1915, a mere 46 days after the landings. The Gallipoli campaign created the ‘Anzac legend’: a set of beliefs that Australian troops—or “Diggers—had special qualities that set them apart and reflected uniquely Australian characteristics of humour, courage, tenacity, ruggedness and ‘mateship’. These qualities were reflected in the renowned fighting capacity of the Diggers displayed in all subsequent conflicts in which Australians have participated. Since Gallipoli, St John’s has honoured our service men and women through a series of striking memorials which recount Gallipoli and subsequent engagements. They include stained-glass windows, war treasures, regimental colours and flags, and commemorative plaques. This book recounts the conflicts behind the memorials, and the moving stories of heroism, and also of trauma, suffering and sacrifice, which accompanied them. The book’s canvas moves from Gallipoli to the Battle of Beersheba in the Middle East and the Western Front in Europe during the First World War. It takes in the Battles of Britain and El Alamein in the Second World War and the gruelling campaign in Papua and New Guinea when Australia was fighting for its very survival. A particular highlight is the Cathedral’s ‘Gallipoli flag’, the very last flag flown at the evacuation of the Anzacs from Gallipoli in December 1915. The flag was carried under enemy fire by an Army chaplain, a Queenslander, on the final day of the evacuation, marking it as one of Australia’s most significant and symbolic artefacts. This book is designed for Queensland secondary schools for the study of Anzac Day and the various conflicts in which Australian forces fought in the Anzac tradition. It is also a ‘must read’ for the general reader interested in Australia’s military history and the evocative stories behind Australia’s experience of war. ISBN: 978-0-6481086-1-0

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The Anglican Church of Australia

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